Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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VOLUME 62 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 P91 with "two of the latest brakers" up ahead, he had to force a way by Mir (lap eight) after two previous unsuccessful attempts, then Acosta (lap 10) with late- braking antics at turn 10. With Alex out of the points thanks to a lack of front feel, illustrated perfectly by a turn-nine-on-lap- nine slip, which demoted him to 10th, Marc just had to finish two places behind his brother on Sunday to sew up the crown. Acosta led home Mir and Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) in a spread-out top five. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Ya - maha) worked miracles to finish sixth and keep a frustrated Luca Marini (HRC Castrol) behind. Sunday MotoGP Bagnaia led the way into turn one with Acosta and Marc behind. Meanwhile, Mir's bobble entering turn two gave Quar - tararo the space to opportunisti- cally take fourth with Morbidelli, Bezzecchi and Alex following. Ending the first lap, the victory fight was as good as done as Bagnaia had streaked seven tenths of a second clear. His lead surpassed one second the second time around and contin - ued to rise until lap 11. By then, he already had 3.7 seconds in hand. Only later would a factor out of his control put victory in doubt. From the first lap, Marc's at - tention was elsewhere. With his brother seventh, he was under- standably risk-averse. He was easily by Acosta at turn three on lap 11 to sit second. 2020, I continued to fight, and I can now say I'm at peace with myself. This has been the biggest challenge for me since I joined MotoGP. I never gave up and stayed focused on myself, follow - ing my instincts and making im- portant yet not simple decisions. This is why this World title is the best way to close the circle." MotoGP Sprint As the champion-in-waiting's approach aimed at staying out of trouble, the reigning cham - pion did anything but. Flustered by Fermin Aldeguer's (Gresini Ducati) move to the inside of turn one off the start, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) mis - judged his braking, and barreled into teammate Marco Bezzec- chi, cracking his right collarbone in the process. Up ahead, and Bagnaia, who had earlier taken pole position in dominant style, had quickly established early control over surprise front-row starter Joan Mir (HRC Castrol), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM) and Marc. The way Bagnaia simply accelerated clear of his pursuers was totally at odds with the rider who had finished the previous six races (Sprints included) 13th, ninth, 14th, seventh, 13th and a DNF. The secret lay at the post-race test at Misano, where it's be - lieved the Italian reverted to the very base of last year's bike, in- cluding chassis and swingarm. A first Sprint win of the year for Bagnaia was achieved by 1.8 seconds, as Marc struggled to make progress early on. Faced We will have a factory bike to approach and to have the same things as the factory riders." CASEY HELPING BAGNAIA'S RETURN? There have been as many false dawns as disappointments in Pecco Bagnaia's 2025 cam- paign. However, the Italian was significantly improved in Japan thanks to a full day of testing at Misano following the previous race. There was speculation Bagnaia had reverted to almost every part from last year's bike apart from the engine, with some believing his ride-height device was the 2024 version on Friday. The three-time champ also had Casey Stoner in his box, which he claimed was a help. "To have Casey in my garage was something great. Also, because he was giving the technicians and the engineers another point of view. It's true that in the test also, him and Manuel [Poggiali – Performance Analyst] worked a lot together because they were arriving in the garage saying the same things. But having Casey, who is someone outside of Ducati, was helpful. Because he was saying different kinds of things that were helping a lot. And we also spent time together in the days after, with a go-kart, and at the ranch, speaking a lot, it was super helpful." Briefly...